Pieces

Product Notes

This project was first commissioned by an educational publisher with the intention of being "An instrumental album of original songs with world styles for the creative learning environment". Blair Ashby and John Bickham decided to take the project a little further and try to write songs as attractive to the teachers as to the students. We used rhythms and styles from Brazil, Cuba, Japan, France, Germany, Ghana and the Lakota Nation to augment Jazz, New Age and Easy Listening formats creating a mix of familiar but exotic songs. Additionally, we used instruments from 84 nations or cultures around the globe to try to show the universality of music and it's ability to transcend international boundaries. Each song has a story or theme behind it: Paper Samba - Blair was taking Samba lessons and he needed a samba song slow enough to learn to. Thus, Paper Samba was born, kind of a diet samba or samba lite. Raku - Written about a group of people who get together to make pottery and talk. Harvest Stream - Inspired by a perfect October afternoon in a beautiful mountain valley. Turtle Island Wind - The musical story about a lone Indian seeing a thunderstorm on the horizon, watching it march across the land toward him, feeling it's full force surrounding him and then enjoying the renewed earth and sky after it passes. Contigo - (With You) - Built on a short theme John wrote to Rita. The title says it all. FuFu - The village gets together for a party and gossip. Black Forest - A scary night in the woods followed by the hope a new day brings. Desert Groove - The brave adventurer exploring the arid paths of the wadai in his backyard. Peace of Every Step - Inspired by the writings and books of Thich Nhat Hanh. Ananda - (Bliss) - All cultures and all nations can get along.

Credits

This project was first commissioned by an educational publisher with the intention of being "An instrumental album of original songs with world styles for the creative learning environment". Blair Ashby and John Bickham decided to take the project a little further and try to write songs as attractive to the teachers as to the students. We used rhythms and styles from Brazil, Cuba, Japan, France, Germany, Ghana and the Lakota Nation to augment Jazz, New Age and Easy Listening formats creating a mix of familiar but exotic songs. Additionally, we used instruments from 84 nations or cultures around the globe to try to show the universality of music and it's ability to transcend international boundaries. Each song has a story or theme behind it: Paper Samba - Blair was taking Samba lessons and he needed a samba song slow enough to learn to. Thus, Paper Samba was born, kind of a diet samba or samba lite. Raku - Written about a group of people who get together to make pottery and talk. Harvest Stream - Inspired by a perfect October afternoon in a beautiful mountain valley. Turtle Island Wind - The musical story about a lone Indian seeing a thunderstorm on the horizon, watching it march across the land toward him, feeling it's full force surrounding him and then enjoying the renewed earth and sky after it passes. Contigo - (With You) - Built on a short theme John wrote to Rita. The title says it all. FuFu - The village gets together for a party and gossip. Black Forest - A scary night in the woods followed by the hope a new day brings. Desert Groove - The brave adventurer exploring the arid paths of the wadai in his backyard. Peace of Every Step - Inspired by the writings and books of Thich Nhat Hanh. Ananda - (Bliss) - All cultures and all nations can get along.